Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Portrait of a Sister by Laura Bradford

Katie Beiler was
always the follower to her twin sister Hannah’s lead. That is until
Hannah left their Amish upbringing for an English life—leaving Katie to
find her own footing in a world that no longer looks as it once did . . .

Katie has always imagined her life being just like Mamm’s. It’s why she
chose baptism and why she’ll soon marry Abram Zook. But ever since
Hannah left, the only thing that truly makes Katie smile is the
sketchpad in which she indulges her talent for drawing faces—a sin that,
if discovered, could get her shunned by her family, her friends, and
even Abram. Yet Katie sees her secret pastime as the only way to quiet a
growing restlessness she’d just as soon ignore. That is until their
Mamm’s untimely death brings Hannah back home to Pennsylvania, with a
new outlook on life, a man she adores, and, soon, an invitation for
Katie to visit her in New York City.

Suddenly, Katie is
experiencing a freedom she’s never had, in a world she never imagined.
She’s also spending time in the company of a fellow dreamer, someone who
sees her as strong and brave and makes her laugh. But it’s when Hannah
shows Katie’s drawings to a gallery owner that she truly finds herself
at a crossroads between the only life she’s ever known and the powerful
lure of an unfamiliar future.

While spending a rainy
afternoon at a friend's house nearly forty years ago, Laura Bradford
fell in love with writing over a stack of blank paper, a box of crayons,
and a freshly sharpened number two pencil.

Those early attempts
at the craft had her writing and illustrating stories for young
children. Wise beyond her years, Laura saved her first writing attempt
in a hand decorated shoe box (complete with sparkly stickers) and moved
on to her next idea. Her second book—O’Casey’s Wish—was so utterly
brilliant, she sent it off to a well-known New York publishing house at
the tender age of ten, confident she was on the verge of becoming the
next Don Freeman (Corduroy) or Shel Silverstein (Giving Tree).

Months later, she received her first form letter rejection.

While
she wasn’t of the mindset to save that first crushing blow for
posterity, Laura did save the original copy of this particular literary
masterpiece in the event the letter was a mistake.

Desperate to
prove her flexibility as a writer, Laura soon found herself dabbling in
jokes (for her Girl Scout troop’s newsletter), stories of angst (a
somewhat autobiographical look at her teenage years), movie reviews (for
the Xavier University Newswire), and countless news and feature
articles (for newspapers in CT, SC, TN, and MO).

It wasn’t until
Laura was home raising children of her own though, that she was finally
able to dust off that rainy day dream and bring it back to its original
form—writing fiction. Today, she is a bestselling mystery author with
Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin Publishing), and an award winning romance
author with Harlequin American. She lives in New York with her family.

Oh,
and if you meet Laura at a book event in the future, ask her about
O’Casey’s Wish. It tends to travel with her everywhere she goes.

The author kept me guess throughout the read as to whether
our Amish girl Katie will stay in her community and give up her heart’s
desire. Her twin has already left the home and you wonder if she will
join her, especially when she is given a taste of living English.I love how we are shown what is really important and are we ready to grasp ahold and cling to what we think we want.There are some surprises here some very sad happenings, and I loved how the family seems to pull together when needed.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kensington, and was not required to give a positive review.